Photo: The Lakers And Heat Have Had Eerily Similar Decades

The peaks and valleys of the Lakers seasons from the end of their three-peat to the end of Phil Jackson’s tenure on the bench have been well documented. Shaq left, the Lakers struggled during some of Kobe’s best years, Pau arrived, they lost a rough championship to the Celtics, won back-to-back titles, and then saw their run come to an end at the hands of the Mavericks.

While the Lakers’ story was being played out, the Miami Heat was actually in the midst of a similar trajectory — one that started just a few years later. After winning the 2006 title with Shaq, the Heat lost Shaq and became a lottery team, the Heat then lost a pair of first-round playoff series, acquired LeBron James and Chris Bosh to make the Heat an elite team again, lost a tough Finals series to the Mavericks, and have now won back-to-back championships.

The similarities are insane, and this graphic details just how similar the Heat’s last eight years have been, in a nine-year stretch, to the Lakers. Check it out below.